Infrared Imaging of the Brain-Eyelid Thermal Tunnel: A Promising Method for Measuring Body Temperature in Afebrile Children

Abstract

(1) Infrared thermography of the inner canthus of the eye has emerged as a promising tool for temperature screening and fever diagnosis. Its non-invasive nature lends itself well to mass screening in diverse settings such as schools, public transport, and healthcare facilities. Swift and accurate temperature assessment plays a pivotal role in the early identification of potential fever cases, facilitating timely isolation, testing, and treatment, thereby mitigating the risk of disease transmission. Nonetheless, the reliability of this approach in the pediatric population, especially when compared to conventional thermometry methods, remains unexplored. This preliminary study aimed to evaluate the concordance between the temperature of the inner canthus of the eye (Tic,eye), referred to as the brain-eyelid thermal tunnel (BTT°), with axillary and tympanic methods in afebrile children. (2) Methods: A cohort of 36 children, matched in a 1:1 ratio for gender and age, underwent comprehensive assessments encompassing anthropometric data, blood pressure evaluations, axillary (Tax) and tympanic (Tty) temperature measurements, as well as BTT° infrared thermography. (3) Results: The findings revealed a high level of concordance among the tympanic, axillary, and BTT° measurement methods. Bland–Altman plots showed that the bias was minimal, and no statistically significant differences were observed when comparing BTT° with axillary (p = 0.136) and tympanic (p = 0.268) measurements. Passing–Bablok regression scatter plots further confirmed the agreement, aligning the fitted regression line closely with the identity line for both axillary versus BTT° and tympanic (Tty) versus BTT° comparisons. (4) Conclusions: This study holds significant implications for public health, especially in the context of infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19. BTT° infrared thermography of the inner canthus of the eye (Tic,eye) reliably measures body temperature in afebrile children in controlled settings; nevertheless, its practical application necessitates the adaptation of biothermodynamic parameters to accommodate diverse environmental conditions.

Methodology for Thermal Analysis of Combustion Engines, Applied to Automobiles

“…There are works that use thermal images in humans, depending on the analysis and the application required, these systems are configured, where the use of thermal images and in some cases videos are used, we found works where it refers to the recording of the respiratory temperature, placing the control point the nose, where certain pathologies can be monitored for control [9,10]. We found applications where we try to measure the temperature of the head in children and in specific places, as in the case of the eyes, we resort to analysis with a central point in the eye, this method is noninvasive, because the thermal images do not affect people [11]. We also found works where it refers to the control of the recovery of patients with scoliosis, in order to evaluate the body temperature by using thermal imaging [12].…”